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"Moving Platforms" Could Revolutionize Train Travel

The Independent: A revolutionary new design called "Moving Platforms" could allow high-speed trains to run across a country without slowing down, according to its designer.

The concept, which has been created by London-based design agency Priestmangoode and revealed this month, hypothesizes using tram-like trains to collect passengers, before speeding up and "connecting" to high-speed trains to allow passengers to move from one to the other. Travelers would be able to both board and disembark at speed, allowing seamless connections from almost any street to any other street in cities equipped with the docking trams.

In theory, the idea could also be used to connect high-speed trains, removing the need for getting off the train and changing, for instance, and could eventually be used for international services.

Priestmangoode's idea effectively removes the need for trains to ever slow down - something which Paul Priestman says is more appropriate for the technology travelers have access to today.

"The problem is we're trying to run a 21st century service on a 19th century infrastructure," he explains. "I think that stations are completely out of date. With the modern technology, the modern trains that we're building now, having to have them stop at stations is ridiculous. The railway system is almost like the telecommunications system before the internet arrived."